In 1982, John Sykes was recruited by former Uriah Heep frontman John Sloman, for his new band Badlands, alongside his future Whitesnake bandmate Neil Murray. This was to be short-lived however, as Badlands broke up shortly after formation. No music has ever been officially released, although bootlegs of rehearsals do exist. Sykes also auditioned, unsuccessfully, for Ozzy Osbourne's band following the death of Randy Rhoads.[2] Sykes also auditioned for Ronnie James Dio's new band, Dio for 1983's Holy Diver but was unsuccessful and chose Sweet Savage guitarist Vivian Campbell.

David Coverdale hired Sykes to join Whitesnake following the release of Slide It In in 1984. He re-recorded some guitar tracks for the US release, and toured in support of the album, culminating with the 1985 Rock in Rio festival.

Sykes co-wrote the majority of the songs on Whitesnake's 1987 self-titled album with David Coverdale, and recorded the guitar as well as some backing vocal tracks.[1] Near the end of the 1987 sessions Coverdale fired the entire band (allegedly because of personality clashes and matters of ego) and brought in Adrian Vandenberg to record the solo on "Here I Go Again".

This was Whitesnake's most successful album, peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart[3] and selling over eight million copies in the United States alone. It contained the hit singles "Still of the Night", "Is This Love", "Give Me All Your Love", and "Here I Go Again" (the last was not a Sykes composition).

Their self-titled debut album was a moderate success, but the 1993 follow-up Nothin' but Trouble did not fare as well. After two studio albums and a live recording, Blue Murder was put to bed and Sykes began recording and touring under his own name.

In the years following Blue Murder, Sykes recorded several solo albums: Out of My Tree (1995), Loveland (1997), 20th Century (1997) and Nuclear Cowboy (2000). A song from 20th Century, "Cautionary Warning", was used in the anime series Black Heaven. The footage accompanying the song was rotoscoped from one of Sykes' concerts. Sykes' involvement in the series was the a feature of Pioneer USA's marketing.[citation needed]

Sykes performing in 2007

In 2004, the live album Bad Boy Live! was released, covering a number of "greatest hits" from Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Blue Murder, and his solo work.

On 7 May 2011 episode of That Metal Show, when asked about a Blue Murder reunion, Carmine Appice said they were "talking." No further details were given.[6] On 26 July, during his taping of "That Metal Show," Sykes announced that he was forming a new band with drummer Mike Portnoy.[7]

On 24 January 2012, Eddie Trunk confirmed that the Sykes/Portnoy project had dissolved, saying "When I first talked about Portnoy and Sykes working together I joked with them that I had never met two guys with such different work ethics. Mike wants to do everything yesterday and John really takes his time and is much more conservative. That truly is the only reason why what could have been a killer band has dissolved. Obviously bands are like any relationship, some click, some do not. This was simply a case of two different people not only getting to know each other musically but also personally, and the schedule and timing for making this work just fell apart. Mike and the band's bass player, Billy Sheehan, were ready to go, and John simply was not on the same timetable.".[8] The next day, Richie Kotzen was announced to have replaced Sykes. On 29 January, John posted on his website: "The project I was putting together with Mike Portnoy didn't work out, and I wish him all the best for the future. I'm continuing to work on my new album, and I look forward to putting out some great new music in 2012." [9]

In February 2013, JohnSykes.com announced that his fifth solo album is due for release in 2013, and he has written over 30 new tracks. The album title and track list is currently undisclosed.[10] New track samples were released in late 2014.[11]

Sykes was married to Jennifer Brooks Sykes for more than 16 years. Together they had three sons, and one son from Jennifer's previous marriage to Rainbow bassist, Craig Gruber. They were divorced in 1999.[citation needed]

In 2006 Gibson Guitars began producing an "Inspired By" Gibson Les Paul which was modeled after Sykes' 1970s-era Les Paul Custom.[12] There were two versions available; an "aged" look (recreating the exact looks of John's Les Paul) and a "standard" or "VOS" model. This was a limited edition run, with 66 aged look models created, and just over 100 VOS models created.[13]

His amplifiers include several modified Marshall JCM800s he's used since the early 1980s. He took a break from Marshall in the late 1980s when he started using Mesa/Boogie amplifiers. He used the Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+, Mark III Coliseum, and Dual Rectifier amplifiers during his tenures with Whitesnake and Blue Murder. He once again started using his JCM800s when he began touring solo and for the Thin Lizzy "reunion" tours.